- Focuses on the deep relationship between philosophical concepts and modern scientific theory
- Traces the complex historical paths along which basic concepts of the natural world have evolved
- Written by an esteemed philosopher and author, Michael Heller, who is also the winner of the 2008 Templeton Prize
The traditional topics of the "philosophy of nature" — space, time, causality, the structure of the universe — are overwhelmingly present in our modern scientific theories. This book traces the complex paths that discussion of these topics has followed, from Plato and Aristotle, through Descartes, Leibniz, Kant and other great thinkers, right up to the relativistic cosmologies and the grand unified theories of contemporary science. In the light of this historical development, it becomes clear that modern science gives us not only a technological power over the world, but also a deeper understanding of physical reality. In this sense, science could be regarded as an heir to the traditional "philosophy of nature". Moreover, the reader will learn why science itself deserves to be the subject of philosophical reflection.
Spiritual Evolution: Scientists Discuss Their Beliefs
describes the intellectual and emotional journeys traveled by esteemed
scientists worldwide. Authors share the personal steps they have taken
to blend an understanding of the Divine with their scientific
perspectives.
Charles Birch, S. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Larry
Dossey, Owen Gingerich, Peter E. Hodgson, Stanley L. Jaki, Arthur
Peacocke, John Polkinghorne, Russell Stannard, and Carl Friedrich von
Weizsäcker offer accounts of their spirituality and scientific inquiry.
Noting the impact of religious upbringing, academic and spiritual
mentors, personal devotional practice, and study, these authors make a
compelling case for the blending of both scientific and spiritual
worlds. They share insights that keep them attending church, engaging in
prayer, and continuing the search to understand the Infinite.
Science and religion have long been thought incompatible. But nowhere
has this apparent contradiction been more fully resolved than in the
figure of A. S. Eddington (1882–1944), a pioneer in astrophysics,
relativity, and the popularization of science, and a devout Quaker. Practical Mystic uses
the figure of Eddington to shows how religious and scientific values
can interact and overlap without compromising the integrity of either.
Eddington was a world-class scientist who not only maintained his religious
belief throughout his scientific career but also defended the
interrelation of science and religion while drawing inspiration from
both for his practices. For instance, at a time when a strict adherence
to deductive principles of physics had proved fruitless for
understanding the nature of stars, insights from Quaker mysticism led
Eddington to argue that an outlook less concerned with certainty and
more concerned with further exploration was necessary to overcome the
obstacles of incomplete and uncertain knowledge.
By examining this intersection between liberal religion and astrophysics, Practical Mystic
questions many common assumptions about the relationship between
science and spirituality. Matthew Stanley’s analysis of Eddington’s
personal convictions also reveals much about the practice, production,
and dissemination of scientific knowledge at the beginning of the
twentieth century.
The claim is often heard that science and religion are in
irreconcilable conflict. However, when the essence of
science and the essence of religion are examined more
closely, this viewpoint may appear as simply a mirage.
The first and vital step in this investigation is to
understand that only physics (including astronomy,
chemistry and molecular biology) qualifies as exact
science. In this book the author, Stanley L. Jaki,explains how this is so,
and then explores what physicists themselves have
claimed physics to be. Next he considers what these
physicists have said as philosophers regarding physics,
and after that shows what their investigations of the
history of physics have revealed.
The result is that the function of numbers is seen as
the determinant factor in the nature of physics. If such
is the case, and as long as religion is viewed as a set of
propositions which are not subject to measurement,
which numbers make possible, then a conflict between
religion and exact science can only be a mirage.
A chapter on the ideologies grafted onto physics
provides further information on this crucial point. The
next to last chapter deals with the inclement climate of
opinion that prevents a fair consideration of these
points. The last chapter gives a concrete analysis of
some cases that often come up in debates regarding
science and religion.
The Beginning According to Genesis and Science
What did the writer of Genesis mean by 'the first day'? Is it a literal
week or a series of time periods? If I believe that the earth is 4.5
billion years old, am I denying the authority of Scripture?
In response
to the continuing controversy over the interpretation of the creation
narrative in Genesis, John Lennox proposes a succinct method of reading
and interpreting the first chapters of Genesis without discounting
either science or Scripture. With examples from history, a brief but
thorough exploration of the major interpretations, and a look into the
particular significance of the creation of human beings, Lennox suggests
that Christians can heed modern scientific knowledge while staying
faithful to the biblical narrative. He moves beyond a simple response to
the controversy, insisting that Genesis teaches us far more about the
God of Jesus Christ and about God's intention for creation than it does
about the age of the earth. With this book, Lennox offers a careful yet
accessible introduction to a scientifically-savvy, theologically-astute,
and Scripturally faithful interpretation of Genesis.
'The Grand Design', by eminent scientist Stephen Hawking, is the latest
blockbusting contribution to the so-called New Atheist debate, and
claims that the laws of physics themselves brought the Universe into
being, rather than God. In this swift and forthright reply, John Lennox,
Oxford mathematician and author of 'God's Undertaker', exposes the
flaws in Hawking's logic. In lively, layman's terms, Lennox guides us
through the key points in Hawking's arguments - with clear explanations
of the latest scientific and philosophical methods and theories - and
demonstrates that far from disproving a Creator God, they make his
existence seem all the more probable.
In this critically acclaimed book, first published in 1988 and now
reprinted in paperback, scientist and author Paul Davies explains how
recent scientific advances are transforming our understanding of the
emergence of complexity and organization in the universe.
Melding a variety of ideas and disciplines from biology, fundamental
physics, computer science, mathematics, genetics, and neurology, Davies
presents his provocative theory on the source of the universe's
creative potency. He explores the new paradigm (replacing the
centuries-old Newtonian view of the universe) that recognizes the
collective and holistic properties of physical systems and the power of self-organization. He casts the laws in physics in the role of a
"blueprint," embodying a grand cosmic scheme that progressively unfolds
as the universe develops.
Challenging the viewpoint that the physical universe is a
meaningless collection particles, he finds overwhelming evidence for an
underlying purpose: "Science may explain all the processes whereby the
universe evolves its own destiny, but that still leaves room for there
to be a meaning behind existence."
Most often, the dialogue between religion and science is initiated by
the discoveries of modern science —big bang cosmology, evolution, or
quantum theory, for example. In this book, scientist-theologian John Polkinghorne changes the discussion. He approaches the dialogue from a
little-explored perspective in which theology shapes the argument and
sets the agenda of questions to be considered.
The author begins with a
review of approaches to science and religion in which the classification
focuses on theological content rather than on methodological technique.
He then proceeds with chapters discussing the role of Scripture, a
theology of nature, the doctrine of God, sacramental theology, and
eschatology.
Throughout, Polkinghorne takes the perspective of
Trinitarian thinking while arguing in a style that reflects the
influence of his career as a theoretical physicist. In the final
chapter, the author defends the appropriateness of addressing issues of
science and religion from the specific standpoint of his Christian
belief. His book provides an important model for theologians and
scientists alike, showing how their two fields can inform one another in
significant ways.
A. R. Peacocke's Creation and the World of Science, an expanded
version of his 1978 Bampton Lectures, was widely recognized as a key
work on the relation of the sciences to religion, in general, and
Christian theology in particular. It has long been seen as a formative
contribution to the wide-ranging investigations which now,
internationally, constitute this intensely active field. This new
reprinting contains the original and influential text and also contains a
new supplement containing key references to the literature of recent
years as well as indicating the author's current position on central
themes. It constitutes an essential
reference and starting point for the contemporary discussion of key
issues in the dialogue between the sciences and theology.
Is there any connection between the vastness of the universes of stars and galaxies and the existence of life on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way? This book shows that there is. In their classic work, John Barrow and Frank Tipler examine the question of Mankind's place in the Universe, taking the reader on a tour of many scientific disciplines and offering fascinating insights into issues such as the nature of life, the serach for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the past history and fate of our universe.
John D. Barrow, Professor of Astronomy, University of Sussex, and Frank J. Tipler, Professor of Mathematical Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans
